Children of Men
by Silentstronghold
Summary: An outstretched hand befalls the young man. The other does not retreat his offer,a silent gesture of kindness. He not needs to be thanked for his actions nor the need for approval,he is there when needed,a reliability in a dark. A possible pact of companionship,he is the embodiment of a safe stronghold. Squall decites he wants nothing to do with it. CloudxSquall in later chapters.
1. Prologue

**Summary**:

An outstretched hand befalls the young man as he takes his time to stare at it for a moment. The other does not retreat his offer, a silent gesture of kindness. He not needs to be thanked for his actions nor the need for approval , he is there when needed, a reliability in a dark. A possible pact of companionship being offered, he is the embodiment of a safe stronghold.

Squall decides he wants nothing to do with it.

**The children of men**

Prologue

"_Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by."  
__― Anonymous, __Holy Bible: King James Version_

"_This is bad.."_

A young swordsman dodged his attacker's moves with an only half an inch before tumbling to the harsh cold ground.

"_Scratch that, this is beyond bad"_

Squall Leonheart had been fighting for what seemed like an eternity, fighting what looked like himself awfully much over and over.

The first copy had appeared while he was having one of his few but necessary breaks. It hadn't been much of a problem, since he had gone down quite easy. Though, unfortunately for him it didn't end with that simple victory, more and more of _**those creatures **_had been showing up. Each time he cut one down, another would appear in its place. After losing the count and taking some blows and hits then and there, the man was on the end of his rope as some would have called it..

"Ugh.." Squall groaned, he tried getting on his feet, his trusted gunblade used as support. He felt an incredibly sharp pain going through his right arm, a warm wetness dripping to the ground.

_"Blood.."_

He muttered to himself ,then decided that clutching the injured arm hasn't been one of his brightest ideas.

He had to focus, concentrate. Those creatures had started surrounding him, there were far too many for him to handle, him being wounded and because of that not being able to use his weapon properly. They were getting closer..they were coming at him from every direction possible. Like a storm of destruction they head for him. On his knees, the brunet looked up to the sky while his eyes grew with despair.

"_End of the line it seems.."_

_A shadow_

He was pretty sure that if he would have blinked, he would have missed the dark form dash from behind, only to jump over him and give his many opponents that threatened to attack him a heavy counter blow. The speed and strength were enviously breathtaking and apparently enough to stun the rest of the copies, the curious figure stood in front of him in a protective manner. Spiky blonde hair, his sword large and heavy but used easily as it was light as a feather. There was something about the way he stood there, his slim silhouette not getting in the way of the fact that _**no one**_ was getting through this man.

_A mercy?_

The other warrior could only stare with somewhat conflicted eyes, unable to believe that someone came to his rescue…unable to believe that he **needed** a rescue. Especially since he was so keen on taking care of everything on his own, not that he was complaining..slightly.

The presence of the other man seemed to intimate the creatures as they all appeared to flee from the scene.

"_Are you serious?"_ The injured man thought to himself as he was still clutching his bloody arm while he watched the odd copies get smaller and smaller. _"Whatever" _Squall thought with his pride slightly more wounded than his bleeding arm, then turned his attention back to the blonde swordsman with a frown on his face. He remembered him, the gifted fighter was like himself a warrior of Cosmos and fellow lone wolf. At that point, his so called "rescuer" had turned his head towards the other and gave him a light nod.

"_Strife" _

_Haven't written in ages, so be gentle with me. I'm hoping to capture Squall's and Cloud's personalities, though of course with a little twist of my own. I want to let them warm up to each other first. They are both not the most social people in the world, let them be stoic dudes with later on a weak spot for each other. Sounds good? By the way English isn't my native language, though doing my best to give you an entertaining story. _

_Love,_

_Kim x_


	2. Chapter 1 An outstretched hand

**Chapter two- _An outstretched hand_**

_True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.__"_

An outstretched hand befalls the young man as he takes his time to stare at it for a moment. The other does not retreat his offer, a silent gesture of kindness. He not needs to be thanked for his actions nor the need for approval , he is there when needed, a reliability in a dark. A possible pact of companionship being offered, he is the embodiment of a safe stronghold.

Squall decides he wants nothing to do with it.

He ignores the offered gesture in front of him, instead he gets on his feet the hard way. His pride and brick thick walls more an obstacle than anything else. With a inner cringe he finds a way to stand up straight and looks past the older man, who had finally retreated his hand with a distant shrug.

"I suppose I should thank you." Squall muttered before he tightens the grip on his trusted blade and turns to make his leave.

"You're wounded" The blonde man spoke as he eyed Squall's bloodied arm suspiciously. "You should let me- I have bandages in my pack" The younger interrupted. The man named Cloud Strife studied Squall's face and then finally raised an eyebrow at the younger one, Squall felt more blood dripping down drop by drop. _"No worries, been there, done that, no need to feel lightheaded"_

"I can take care of myself" Squall stated like the Lion he was suppose to be.

"_Only in art will the __**lion**__ lie down with the lamb, and the rose grow without thorn__"_

"Of that I have no doubt" He sincerely spoke and what the man did next surprised Squall. He did not push the matter as many other might have done, he simply gave the younger another reassuring nod and a final offer of medicine that was guided into the Lion's gloved hands. Squall blinked at the object he had received and then lifted his gaze back to the ex-soldier, who had already turned to leave and now to disappear in to the distance .He is someone Squall can admire without apology.

Then again.. just slightly.

Night had started to fall and Squall knew he had to set camp. His arm still pounding but at least now bandaged as best possible he had been able to perform. Bandaged might have been the wrong choice of words. The therm "ripped off clothing article wrapped around arm," seemed to describe it more likely. The young man let out an exhausted sigh, it had been quite a day…to be honest, quite a month. He kept on wandering for a while, trying to find a nice place to settle for the night. He happened to stumble on a small lake. Kneeling, he took care of his injuries. His arm was in worse shape than he needed in his position but it seemed cleaning it was his best option for now, finally he smeared some left over medicine on it and filled his empty water bottle.

He decided to spend the night near the lake, his back resting against a giant oak tree. It wasn't long before his eyes remained shut.

_Ruffle Ruffle_

"…."

At the sound of someone or something crawling through the bushes, Squall had his gunblade ready to be used. His eyes trying to locate his target, all his senses on high alert. Was he ever allowed to get some rest in this god forsaken place?

"_There!"_

He didn't waste any time and dashed forward to strike, it was answered by a sharp clash of swords. "Ugh" Squall bit his lip as he cursed himself for his weakened arm. He couldn't make out this figure yet, his vision all fuzzy and eyes still getting used to the dark of night. He figured offense was his best defense at this point and started to strike out at this figure. He was matched and pushed back easily with each of his strikes.

"Dammit" He thought to himself as he found that his gunblade had fallen out of reach after a few minutes, he turned his gaze back to his attacker and made the decision to tackle him to the ground. They tumbled and rolled back and forth, he wasn't going down easy but then he found himself pinned down by his arms above his head, his knees on both sides of Squall's legs. The other finally getting the upper hand, Squall resisted and trashed around for a bit before a rough voice made him stop in his tracks.

"Easy kid" The voiced had spoken, he knew exactly whom it belonged to. Which made him glare upwards to the blonde haired man above him, he could now make out the lines of his face and blue eyes staring down at him. Cloud had loosened his grip on the younger and gently got off him.

"It's Squall" The gunblader corrected him, being slightly annoyed with being called "kid". What was this guy thinking? Sneaking up on people like that in the middle of the night? He was asking for trouble. Squall brushed off the dirt that had collected itself on his clothes and got on his feet.

"_Lightheaded"_

In the mean time, Cloud had collected his gunblade that was tossed aside earlier and handed it over. "Alright, **Squall**." He had started as he watched the younger for a moment. "I see your _bandages_ are holding up fine" He continued as he referred to the torn clothing piece that was now around his arm. "_Whatever_.." Squall thought as he noticed the tiniest smirk coming from the other man. "It's none of your business"

"_I need to sit down.."_ Squall thought to himself, this little rumble with the blonde with ridiculously odd hair had taken its toll on him. He leaned on the nearest tree, he had lost quite some blood he figured which made him feel like he was about to faint then and there. It wasn't long till his knees gave out and his vision turned to complete blackness.

Funny how he never felt hitting the harsh cold ground.

_Well chapter one is complete it seems. Hope you enjoyed it. I'm still figuring out how I want to portray Squall. Cloud comes easier for me, a strong but silently caring type. He's a bit older and remember Squall is still in his teens, he wants to do everything on his own but needs a helping hand now and then. He admires Cloud's skill and abilities but doesn't want companionship. Cloud isn't exactly the most social person alive either but I guess he still looks out for people..when he's not like in his I WANT TO BE FORGIVEN moods . Anyway hope you look forward towards the next chapter._

_Love,_

_Kimx_


	3. Chapter 2 The Wolf and the Lion

_Chapter two - The Wolf and the Lion_

"_There is darkness inside all of us, though mine is more dangerous than most. Still, we all have it—that part of our soul that is irreparably damaged by the very trials and tribulations of life. We are what we are because of it, or perhaps in spite of it. Some use__  
__it as a shield to hide behind, others as an excuse to do unconscionable things. But, truly, the darkness is simply a piece of the whole, neither good nor evil unless you make it so. It__  
__took a witch, a war, and a small lifetime to teach me that."_

Squall woke at the first rays of dusk's sunlight, his eyes opening slowly adjusting the morning sun. He hadn't slept quite that well for some time now, besides the passing out part of course.

"_Hold on"_

He gave a low groan and rubbed his forehead in concentration, he had passed out last night hadn't he? His arm being the reason..Squall took a look at his injured arm and was quite taken back that his ripped sleeve had been replaced and was now fully bandaged. "_Cloud? Did he?" _ The mercury instantly checked his surroundings and it wasn't long before he locked eyes with the ex-soldier.

The man was sitting next to a small fire that had probably kept them warm all night..since it was close to be burned out completely. The blonde had his long broadsword between his legs, sharpening it to fullest potential. Squall just stared at him with a face that had to have an confused expression since it made Cloud pause in his movements, he searched the younger one's eyes for a moment. Squall wasn't sure what he was searching for and just when he move his lips for words to form, the blonde had beat him to it.

"You look better, you fainted because of your major blood loss. As you've already noticed, I've replaced your "bandages" and let you sleep it off." The man spoke in a distant tone of voice while he tossed a piece of bread to the other, then he turned his attention back to his blade which had Squall dumb folded.

"Thanks.." He answered in a state of slight embarrassment. He felt vulnerable and he was by no means vulnerable, Cloud though, didn't seem to notice which relieved Squall slightly. He examined the newly received bread before taking a bite. _"Dry.."_

Cloud let his eyes wander from his huge blade towards the young mercury. His hands still occupied with sharpening the sword as he watched the other carefully. Guess sleep did him well, at least the kid tolerated his presence.. for now. It was not like Cloud was into the whole companionship deal that he knew some of their fellow warriors seemed to have. It was his better judgment that made him stop his tracks and turn back after he had first seen the gunblader being outnumbered by far.

He had truly planned to let the brunet just keep to himself like he liked to do as well. Both go separate ways to restore their crystals and their worlds. It's seemed fine, he thought it was fine, it should have been fine. Though with each step he took further away from this _Squall, _ he found himself thinking that he should turn back and finally he let out a frustrated cry and cursed his consentience for not being able to shut up, he turned to do exactly so..which got him attacked, tackled and fainted on by the same grumpy teenager. "_Wonderful_" The young man thought to himself and sighed shaking his head.

"So.." The other started and the wolf was pulled back in the present as he blinked at the lion. "So..what happens now?" Squall continued as he had seemed to finish his breakfast. A raised eyebrow was directed at the older one, while Cloud just shrugged.

"Whatever you want"

"That's it?"

"Yes"

"…."

It seemed Squall could find himself in that as he nodded at the blonde, Cloud returned the gesture and got up on his feet. He could feel the lion's eyes on him, strangely it filled his body with odd sensation before he threw his sword over his shoulder.

"Don't we both want to go our separate ways?" Cloud asked as he locked his eyes with the other, stormy grey eyes meeting deep blue ones. Squall broke their contact as he picked up his trusted blade as well. It seemed clear where did was heading.

Squall inwardly agreed with that sentence as he picked up his belongings, preparing to continue his journey, to be on his way. He was grateful that the man had looked out for him and he had to admit it had been nice to be able to sleep for more than 2 hours. Though the thing was that he couldn't afford a companion, it was one of the reasons he had parted with Bartz and Zidane. It would only be more difficult to say farewell later on. Better to say goodbye now than later. _ I cannot afford another loss._

"Though..I could use someone to watch my back" Cloud had stated, his jaw tight and eyes focusing somewhere past Squall's head, he seemed lost in thoughts. "_That sure was unexpected" _Squall looked up at him. Another frown was forming on his handsome face, not only because of the man before him but due the fact that his arm wasn't healed yet. What was the better option really?

Cloud figured that silent pause as he **no**, nothing new of course. He distantly put his hand in the air as in saying his goodbyes, before he was able to lower it, the other moved towards him. It was Cloud's turn to raise his eyebrow. Silently not enjoying that the younger was actually a few inches taller than him.

"I'll tag along..for now" Squall spoke and it wouldn't be repeated. Accept it or not said those grey eyes of his that bore into his own. Cloud blinked but then offered his hand once more in silent agreement, as he did in the past.

Squall decides to answer it this time.

_Now I'm off to bed, review and get cookies? _

_xx_


End file.
